Simply because a hide has been preserved and mounted doesn’t mean that it won’t require any further care. While trophies that exhibit better quality work tend to not require as much maintenance as those with careless or shoddy workmanship, all trophies will eventually need to be taken care of, and possibly even refurbished. However, by taking into account the kinds of things that can cause a trophy to degrade over time, it’s possible to avoid most common types of damage.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so the best way to take care of your trophy is to keep it from needing any extra maintenance in the first place. Keeping mounts in climate controlled areas, away from dampness, and out of sunlight will go far in preserving the integrity of the hide, the hair, and the coloring. Cool, dry places away from light are the best places for trophies. Excessive dampness can lead to mold and mildew, while overly hot, dry conditions can desiccate the hide and cause it to crack or split. Dust and skin oils will discolor fur or hair, so mounted animals should be given frequent gentle dusting, and not touched more than absolutely necessary. While discoloration won’t actually damage the hair, it will make it look dirty, and it can be very, very difficult, if not completely impossible, to remove. Dirty hides don’t look realistic, so poor trophy hygiene can ruin the effect of even the best taxidermy. Like any other piece of expensive decorative artwork, a trophy should be kept and handled the same way one would treat a fine, valuable painting.

After a trophy has been damaged by sun exposure or the effect of time on poorly-done taxidermy, there’s not much that beginning taxidermy hobbyists or laypeople can do, aside from re-gluing the occasional lost eye. Fortunately, however, there are professionals who have a lot of experience in restoring old, museum-quality taxidermy pieces and antique heirloom trophies, and are able to fix some common problems old mounts run into. Cracked or split hides can be re-glued, and sun-faded fur can be dyed back to its original color. However, many of these fixes are complicated, time-consuming, and expensive, and well worth avoiding if at all possible.There’s also a limit to how many times a hide can be dyed or glued, so the longer a trophy can go between needing maintenance, the better.

Taking proper care of a mounted trophy is fairly intuitive. Excessive handling, sunlight, head, and wetness can cause the hide and fur to degrade, so they should be avoided. Keeping this in mind will allow you to appreciate your fine trophies for decades, without having to resort to expensive refurbishing or repairs.

13 Responses to “Taking Care of Your Trophy”

We are storing our son-in-laws deer mounts. We had them in the basement for 45 days. I just noticed mold on nose and a little bit on the neck of the deer. Help how do I remove this????? Thanks for your help. We have brought them upstairs!!!

I have a lion skin and head that is about 40 years old. It has been fastened to my grandfather’s wall and does not seem to have been maintained. The skin is now drying and some tears have occured as well as hair loss. What can I do to at least stop the deterioration of this trophy?

We just acquired a small bear mount. Someone poured acrylic on the wood to make it look like water. They got it on the bear paws. How can it be removed from the hair with out doing damage to yhe mount?

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Simply because a hide has been preserved and mounted doesn’t mean that it won’t require any further care. While trophies that exhibit better quality work tend to not require as much maintenance as those with careless or shoddy workmanship, all trophies will eventually need to be taken care of, and possibly even refurbished. However, by […]

After you’ve created a beautiful European skull mount, you want to keep it clean and flawless-looking. Fortunately, if the mount was cleaned properly, bleached, and given a protective coating when it was made, this will be extremely easy. Mounts that were given a protective polyurethane or acrylic spray coat are a breeze to keep clean. […]

Mammals are among the easiest subjects for novice taxidermists to learn. Unlike birds or fish, they don’t require any additional steps to keep their skins looking realistic, and don’t need to be painted after mounting. However, the term “mammals” is very broad, so it’s important for a beginner to decide exactly what kind of animal […]

Even if you don’t work in a museum, taxidermy is a fun and fascinating hobby that’s surprisingly easy to get into. Most hobby taxidermists take it up for one of two reasons- they also enjoy hunting or fishing, or they want to learn the skills to add to their other visual artworks. For hunters and […]

It is believed that taxidermy has been around for many centuries. It may even go back to the beginning of man. Saving trophies has always been a favorite pastime of man. When man first began to hunt he would want a trophy of his kill. The preservation methods were poor so there is no clear […]

After you’ve created a beautiful European skull mount, you want to keep it clean and flawless-looking. Fortunately, if the mount was cleaned properly, bleached, and given a protective coating when it was made, this will be extremely easy. Mounts that were given a protective polyurethane or acrylic spray coat are a breeze to keep clean. […]

Even though a preserved hide has had all of the muscle removed from it, been treated, dried, glued, and mounted, that doesn’t mean that something won’t still try to eat it. Moths, dermestid beetles, and cockroaches commonly infest mounted trophies for various reasons, and can ruin even the best taxidermy mount. Moths and certain types […]

Mammals are among the easiest subjects for novice taxidermists to learn. Unlike birds or fish, they don’t require any additional steps to keep their skins looking realistic, and don’t need to be painted after mounting. However, the term “mammals” is very broad, so it’s important for a beginner to decide exactly what kind of animal […]